The Way of Kings

The Stormlight Archive, Book 1

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

From number one New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of the Stormlight Archive, begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where 10 armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of more than 10 years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.

Strength before weakness.

Journey before destination.

And return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson:

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive:

• The Way of Kings
• Words of Radiance
• Edgedancer (Novella)
• Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy:

• Mistborn: The Final Empire
• The Well of Ascension
• The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series:

• Alloy of Law
• Shadows of Self
• Bands of Mourning

Collection:

• Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels:

• Elantris
• Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series:

• Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
• The Scrivener's Bones
• The Knights of Crystallia
• The Shattered Lens
• The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series:

• The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson:

• The Reckoners
• Steelheart
• Firefight
• Calamity

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2010 Dragonsteel Entertaiment, LLC (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Best Book since The Name of the Wind

What can I say, I have read Mistborn series and I think the first book was nice but the rest was not that good
I don't like to fast of turns, I have nosed a little on The Gathering Storm but i think I need some distance before i pick the last 3 books of wheel of time,,

Now we have The Way of Kings I did ant have any expectations at all so i got a rely nice surprise,
I loved it from the start to the end and enjoyed every sec of it and i want more NOW! This is probably the best fantasybook since The Name of the Wind...

This book Made me a Brandon Sanderson Fan

If you could sum up The Way of Kings in three words, what would they be?

Epic - immersive - Complete

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are the best part of the store... I own over 100 Audio books and there are none not one that compares to Calidin (main char not sure how it is spelled)

Which character – as performed by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer – was your favorite?

They are the 2 best audio actors i have ever heard and they really take the story to the next level

Any additional comments?

If you are looking for a book to lose hours at a time this is a great read. The characters are well thought out and when you are done feel as though you are missing friends. I am a huge David Eddings fan (love his characters) and Brandon Sanderson really make you love and hate people with the best of them. I hope any one reading this will love the book and I hope this helps!

Our wait is almost over

Finally, I can recommend this book (Dec 2013). I was always frustrated after having read this book, because I wanted to listen to the sequel. It is scheduled to be released March 2014!

Read this book now and you won't have to wait as long as I did for the sequel.

I love the book, I love the characters, I just hated having to wait so long for the sequel.

One warning, it took six hours before I realized how great this book is. Don't give up on this book until after the six hour or so mark. You will be richly rewarded and now they have a sequel scheduled!

Buy it b/c it's long; cry b/c it's not long enough

I won't lie. I bought this audiobook because it was long and I thought the sequels were already written. (Yeah, yeah, I know. I read too many reviews in a row and got all turned around.) So, now I'm in the same dang position I was to begin with: waiting impatiently for the next book to be written.

First, the voice actors. This is one of those books that switches between two voice actors, depending on whether the chapter's focal character is male or female. I found Michael Kramer's style a little annoying in the beginning - he pauses too much or something - but I got over it. Now, I'm sure I'll feel like all BS books must be read by him. Kate Reading is simply a narrator I don't notice that much. Which is classy. She doesn't intrude on the narrative.

This is my first Brandon Sanderson book (in case you didn't get that from my intro) and I have to admit I enjoyed it for more than just it's vast page numbers. It uses the device of far-flung characters revealed to be intertwined. This tactic can feel either exasperatingly contrived or mesmerizing, and in this book it really works. The story is just so complex that by the time things start coming together you aren't really sure whether you want your favorite characters to meet or not.

Sanderson invests a lot of time in developing an intricate world, but he doesn't get all top heavy with the history, like so many fantasy writers. He also provides plenty of juicy details about social customs, technologies, politics and language. I still think Patrick Rothfuss is king of 'fictional culture' writing, but I was intrigued by many of Sanderson's ideas. He can be most interesting when he merely hints at a fully imagined city you might never get to visit. And some bits are just plain scary. I have to admit, though, that I might have gotten a little stormed out, by all the storming storms, by the end of the tale. But I kind of miss it, too... lol.

Excellent book but the females voice is robotic

This book is amazing and the different accents definitely added to this story being so enjoyable and easy to follow. With that being said, the female narrator over pronounces words and is hard to listen to. She sounds like the GPS navigator in my car with her lack of animation and robotic voice.

Needed a producer or director

Different pronunciation of key characters' names? That is unacceptable for a product costing more than $40. I might expect that for a homemade $5 book. I have to say that the "affected" reading that Kate Reading always provides does not make this less problematic. She is obviously a popular narrator for some reason, but her performance is much too affected for me and the cadence too stilted.

Michael Kramer, as always, is supremely engaging. This is an absorbing story and I will likely listen to the series. I just wish they had a producer/director to correct those kinds of errors!!!

Spectacular

I've read the Mistborn series (which I loved) and Sanderson's continuation of the WoT series (which I also thought was incredible), but this book exceeded even my expectations. If Sanderson is able to continue this series with equal quality installments, it may become my favorite fantasy series. This book is fantastic on its own, but it also develops such an incredible world with multiple interesting characters that coming to the end was a depressing experience (despite the strong ending for a book that's obviously the first of a series). I bought this to bide my time while eagerly anticipating the last installment of WoT, but I feel like I was rewarded with a work that is at least as good, and possibly better, than the final book of the WoT series (although I must reserve judgment until I read it). With regard to content and style, as much as I love Robert Jordan, I find Sanderson indulges less in the detailed minutia and keeps things moving while still developing the depth of character and world that Jordan did. I don't say that as a mark against Jordan, who was a true master, only to give Sanderson the high praise he deserves. I dream of being a writer, and if I ever had the guts to try it, Sanderson would be one of the authors I'd strive to emulate. Buy this book and ENJOY! (until you get to the end, and then -- like me -- you can wait miserably for the next installment).

For those needing some criticism to give validity to a review (which I understand), I'll note the following. I really like Michael Kramer (not my favorite narrator, but definitely great), and I also like Kate Reading, BUT I do get a bit annoyed by the tone she used to voice the main female character (Shallan). It's similar to the voice used some of the 'young naive women' in WoT (e.g., Nynaeve al'Meara), which I also find a bit grating. I realize the underlying material for these characters suggests a naive female in need of worldly understanding and refinement, but the voice just seems to Jr. High catty for me, particularly because the characters are obviously strong, deep individuals. To be clear, I really respect Kate Reading and consider her to be very talented. I'm only criticizing the voice she uses to depict the 'annoying young woman' characters, which should of course have an annoying voice, I just wish that the degree of annoying were turned down a notch. But again, fantastic book, and great narration from both Kramer and Reading.

BTW: I just checked (on 11/23/12) and Wikipedia indicates vol. 2 of the series will be forthcoming during Christmas season of 2013. Makes me want to cry, although it would have taken me 4 lifetimes to write a poor rendition of vol. 1, so I'm not criticizing the author. Indeed, given Sanderson's work on the WoT series (and others), he appears to be as prolific as R. Jordan. Heralds be praised!!!

Great story, odd narration

The story is wonderful. The only thing that bothered me was the weird way the female narrator emphasized her words. It is as if they took her sentences apart and glued them back together piece by piece. She emphasizes every word in every sentence, which made it hard to get through the chapters she read.

really good story, didn't love the female narrator

loved the book. I have become a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. his stories are fantastic, unpredictable, and capture you in a world with it's own magic.
his characters are diverse and loveable (or hateable, depending on who they are)
The female narrator did not read as well as Michael Kramer, and between the two she said a character's name correctly. it drove me crazy.
other than that, it was a very enjoyable 'read'.
*** edit*** the mispronunciation was fixed in the next book. :)

it took a very long time to get the story rolling

it didn't really start to get good until about three quarters through the book. but when it does, WOW!